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Let’s face it: asking board members to help with fundraising can feel as awkward as teaching your parents how to use TikTok. But it doesn’t have to be! With the right mix of clarity, support, and a dash of good humor, you can turn even the most hesitant board member into a fundraising champion.

A board’s role in fundraising is critical because it sets the tone, drives the strategy, and shows everyone else how it’s done. Board members bring credibility, connections, and leadership that no staff member or volunteer can fully replicate.

Nonprofit boards often find themselves stuck in a rut, performing the same old tasks with the same agenda month after month, with little impact. This "old work," as described by board expert Richard Chait in his 1996 article "The New Board Work of the Nonprofit Board," remains highly relevant today. I had the opportunity to rediscover this valuable resource in my files, and it reaffirmed that boards have the potential to move their work toward a more impactful and relevant approach.

Have you ever wondered why are some board members not engaged or even showing up to your meetings? Board meetings are a necessity for nonprofit organizations, but too often they can be boring, dry, and uninspiring.

They don’t have to be.

As the new year rolls in, many nonprofits are embarking on a brand-new budget, with clean slates, fresh aspirations, and strategies poised for success. You may also find your organization with a new class of volunteers on your board of directors, fresh faces on committees and perhaps even new staff members on your team.

Do your board members regularly ask inquisitive and challenging questions? Does your board have a culture that promotes dialogue and debate?

An often-overlooked strategy of effective boards is to create and/or nurture a true culture of inquiry. Great boards engage members in a way that truly enlists their collective skill sets, thoughts, and differences of opinion. Dialogue with debate is a great thing to have in board meetings. Open discussions that include diverse perspectives position the board to make the best choices.

By Kellie Wardman

Does your non-profit have Save-As-Itis?

Meaning, do you tend to open your previous board meeting’s agenda and click File > Save As to create the next one, plugging in the new date and modifying a few things here and there?

If that’s the case, you may not be leveraging the true brain power and contributions of board members.